Is Plastic Surgery While Pregnant Safe?

Because some pregnancies are unplanned, we occasionally receive calls from patients with scheduled surgeries who’ve found out they are pregnant. They want to know what they should do about their procedure, and this is what we tell them.

It’s Elective Surgery!

All types of surgeries carry certain risks, whether it’s for an appendicitis or a tummy tuck. When a general anesthetic is used, the chances of aborting a fetus in utero are incredibly high. As such, a doctor will only agree to surgery if it is an emergency procedure needed to save the life of the mother, such as an appendectomy. Most doctors will never consent to an operation that could be more safely completed, for both mother and child, at another time. Because it is not a medical necessity, plastic surgery while pregnant is verboten.

The Many Risks

As previously mentioned, the drugs that are used to sedate patients during surgery are extremely harmful to unborn children, especially those in the first trimester. Even if one were beyond the first three months, surgery is always more dangerous while pregnant. Why? For starters, carrying a child forces a woman’s body to undergo countless changes that cannot be accurately measured or predicted. Hormones, fat composition, even blood circulation are all altered when a women is with child. All of those unknown factors make any operation, with the exception of a life-saving one, a huge risk to the lives of both the mother and the child.

Rescheduling

So, how long will you have to wait before you can reschedule your cosmetic surgery procedure? Because both general and local anesthesia travel through the blood, you cannot safely nurse your baby right after surgery. As such, those who are planning on breastfeeding should wait until their baby has been weaned.

If you have any additional questions about plastic surgery while pregnant, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

*Disclaimer: Please note that outcomes from plastic surgery procedures may vary from patient to patient. Before and after images are specific to that particular patient and may not be representative of the experience of others.